Comments:
This rifle appears to be by the same hand as a fully signed "A. Klinedinst" rifle in Kindig's "Thoughts on the Kentucky Rifle in its Golden Age." Despite its areas of wood restoration, heavy wear, old repairs, etc., the gun shows honest details, hardware, and stock architecture of a York County, PA longrifle.
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Quite an enigmatic rifle in that it has top drawer furniture on a plain gun. First reaction is 'uh-oh', a restocked gun. And perhaps it is, but there were makers who were superb at engraving and metal work who didn't do much in the way of carving. Jacob Hoake, of Lancaster comes to mind here. Most of his work, that I have seen is on a close parallel to this gun: classy furniture on a plain gun. The architecture on this one looks good, like Kline's style, and if memory serves, his carved guns are not overwhelming in their ornamentation. This is a very nice honest piece in attic condition.
